Young Chinese women find virtual love in 'Deepspace'

Fans pool their money to organise events where they pose for photos with cardboard cutouts of the heartthrob and exchange homemade merchandise. — AFP

BEIJING: Rafayel's girlfriends went all out to celebrate their lover's birthday, renting malls across China for parties, decorating high-speed trains with his photos, and even staging a dazzling drone show.

But the birthday boy was absent from every event – he's a virtual character in the romantic mobile game Love and Deepspace that has won over millions of young women in China and beyond.